The present invention pertains to a vertically adjustable, locking sign system. More particularly, the invention pertains to a sign system that permits the display portion of the sign to be moved in a vertical plane between one of two positions.
Signs, and more particularly point of purchase sign or display systems can, when properly used, be tremendously effective marketing tools. To this end, point of purchase sign or display systems have become widely popular in all manner of retail and commercial trades.
Point of purchase displays and signs are available in a wide variety, from active signs, which may rotate or have other moving elements, to the more traditional, passive or stationary signs, such as overhead signs. While these signs will be well recognized in the traditional, retail setting, they are also becoming more popular for use in the fast-growing home improvement center retail market as well as the large xe2x80x9cwarehouse-clubxe2x80x9d types of establishments.
Many of these home improvement and warehouse-club establishments use conventional warehouse-type stocking arrangements, which include shelving systems that accept loaded pallets and palletized items onto the shelves, as well as traditional consumer-packaged items. While these pallet-receiving arrangements (e.g., pallet racks) provide an efficient me stocking and storing items, they often do not lend themselves to mounting conventionally known signs or display systems.
In addition to providing effective, eye-catching advertising media, these sign systems must also be designed to permit movement or removal of the sign to efficiently restock the shelves on which the sign is mounted. That is, because of the large amount of stock that can be placed on these shelves, the signs must be readily moveable so that shelves can be restocked. Often, the quantity of material that can be stored or stocked on these shelves is so large that forklifts, fork trucks or like equipment is used to elevate and place a pallet on the shelves of the rack system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,420 to Conway et al., which patent is assigned to the assignee of the present application, discloses one effective sign mounting system that permits pivoting the sign to permit access to the shelves on which the sign is mounted. Although this is an effective sign system, there may be times when the configuration or layout of these pallet racks does not permit pivoting the sign to and from the display position for access to the shelves.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sign and mounting system that permits the use of large, advertising-effective media displays, which signs and mounting systems readily permit moving or repositioning the signs for access to the shelves on which the signs are mounted. Desirably, such signs and mounting systems are positionable in a substantially vertical plane, that is parallel to the face of the pallet rack, between a display position and a storage or restocking position in which the rack shelves can be accessed.
A two-position vertically adjustable sign system is used to mount display media, such as a sign, a poster or the like to an associated vertically oriented rack or shelf. The sign system includes a frame having upper and lower frame members for supporting the media.
The system includes at least two mounting brackets for mounting to the shelf or rack. Preferably, each bracket includes a front wall, a rear wall and a pair of side walls that define an opening in the bracket. An engaging wall extends inwardly of the opening from the rear wall portion of the bracket. The sign system includes a slide beam associated with each mounting bracket. The slide beams are fixedly connected to the frame at the upper and lower frame members. Each beam is slidingly received in its respective mounting bracket opening for vertically adjusting the frame between a display position and a storage position.
Each beam includes an engaging flange that extends from a rear portion of the beam and engages its respective bracket engaging wall to maintain the frame in the display position. Each beam further includes an upper end termination portion to secure to the frame and to maintain the frame in the storage position. A lower termination portion of the beam secures to the frame.
In a preferred embodiment, the bracket engaging wall is inclined, extending upwardly and inwardly of the bracket opening, and the beam engaging flange is inclined complementary to the bracket engaging wall to lock the frame in the display position.
The bracket engaging wall can be formed as a bifurcated wall defining a pair of wall portions and a track between the wall portions. The beam can include a rearwardly extending projection that is configured for receipt in the track, and the beam engaging flange can be formed as a pair of flanges, each a flange extending from a respective side of the projection. The projection arrangement provides additional support and centering of the beam in the bracket.
In one embodiment, the bracket includes a front wall that extends upwardly to a height that is less than a height of the bracket engaging wall. In this embodiment, the beam includes a recessed region on a front portion thereof at about the lower end termination portion. The front wall and the engaging wall are configured so that the beam can be assembled to the bracket by pivotal cooperation of lower end termination portion of the beam into the bracket opening.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.